There’s nothing run of the mill about the show coming to the Waxlax Stage at Riverside Theatre in January — not the novel it’s based on, not the writer of the book and not the music, lyrics, or the format.

Charles Dickens’ novel "The Mystery of Edwin Drood" was left unfinished when the author died unexpectedly, so the murder mystery was never resolved for readers of the 1870 serial.

Who killed Drood? That, dear reader, is for you to say if you’re in the audience, and you’re free to change your mind if you attend subsequent performances.

Rupert Holmes, the man who wrote it all, will be in Vero Beach for rehearsals, and director DJ Salisbury couldn’t be happier.

He said Holmes smooths the path for directors with his many notes in the script about how to manage audience participation.

“It’s a privilege to have him spend time with the Riverside production," he said. "Having the author of the Tony-winning best musical involved in the process is a rare masterclass.”

Salisbury said actors have to build a trust in the company as a whole in order to know the team “can handle any ‘wild cards’ that might arise in the interactive segments.”

Fans of a frequent performer at Riverside, Warren Kelley, will be pleased to know he’s coming back for "Drood." He said he loves the idea of having the actors and the audience “all in the room together. It becomes a complete celebration of story telling and the joy of live theater.”

Holmes, who wrote several endings for this adaption of the story for the New York Shakespeare Festival, is the same Rupert Holmes of "The Pina Colada Song" fame (published as "Escape" in 1979) and creator of "Remember WENN," the very popular series on AMC.

Seating will be cabaret style for "Drood," with about 150 seats available per performance. "The Mystery of Edwin Drood" runs Jan. 16-Feb. 4 on the Waxlax Stage.

The Waxlax stage is used for theater productions only six weeks each year but it rounds out Riverside’s possibilities. Marketing Director Oscar Sales said Allen Cornell, producing artistic director and CEO, “wanted the second stage built so he could show the whole spectrum of theater."

While the main stage it’s about the big shows, the razzle-dazzle and the spectacle, the second stage is about "the power of the play and the playwright’s voice.” Sales calls the Main Stage experience Broadway and the Second Stage Off-Broadway.

Share your memories

The week before Drood comes to town, Vero Beach Theatre Guild opens the new year with "Lend Me a Tenor" at 7 p.m. Jan. 11.

This farcical tour de force was written by Ken Ludwig aand is directed by Art Pingree. The show had nine Tony Award nominations and two Tony wards after it opened on Broadway in the 1980s. Find out more at www.verobeachtheatreguild.com.

The Guild celebrates 60 years in 2018 and I’d love to hear from local folks who remember the early days. Email your memories to me at caribsea@bellsouth.net.

Willi Miller writes about Indian River County. Contact her at caribsea@bellsouth.net.